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The European collaborative project “ScaleUp4Sustainability” convinced the jury of this year’s European Enterprise Promotion Awards (EEPA) and is now among the three finalists of the competition in the category “Supporting the Sustainable Transition”. The winner will be selected at the end of November in Prague (Czech Republic).

The collaborative project had already won the German preliminary competition. Project leader Prof. Dr. Klaus Fichter, Professor of Innovation Management and Sustainability at the Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg and Director of the Borderstep Institute for Innovation and Sustainability, now accepted the award at the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Action (BMWK).

Europe is facing major challenges, for example in climate change and energy supply. We need innovative concepts that accelerate the ecological transformation of the economy and society. Our collaborative project ScaleUp4Sustainability rethinks entrepreneurship. Students and companies from various European countries are working together to develop sustainable products and business models: This is how economic solutions are combined with environmental and climate protection. We are delighted that the BMWK has publicly recognized our victory in the German preliminary round of EEPA 22.

For the 16th time, the jury of the European Commission will award outstanding projects and initiatives for the promotion of entrepreneurship with the European Enterprise Promotion Awards (EEPA). For the third time in a row, both winning projects of the German preliminary competition have made it to the shortlist of the European jury this year and are in the final of the European Enterprise Promotion Awards (EEPA): The “Action Program Inner City & Future Fund Inner City” of the Bremen Economic Development Agency and the European joint project “ScaleUp4Sustainability”, led by the Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, in which Borderstep is involved, now have a great chance of receiving an award during the SME Assembly in Prague at the end of November.

Joint project focuses on cooperative green venturing

The European collaborative project ScaleUp4Sustainability developed innovative concepts for cooperation between students and companies from Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands using practical teaching and learning formats (cooperative green venturing). The three-and-a-half-year project was funded by the EU as part of the “Erasmus-Plus” support programme. The focus was on the convergence of sustainability and economics in the development of new business models. The ten partners in the joint project include the Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg as joint coordinator and the Borderstep Institute for Innovation and Sustainability. The “Challenge4Impact” project, which started in February 2022, builds on the approaches developed for cooperative green venturing.

EEPA recognizes promotion of entrepreneurship

Since 2006, the European Commission has annually awarded publicly funded or volunteer initiatives and non-profit companies dedicated to promoting entrepreneurship and enterprise with the European Enterprise Promotion Awards. The two-stage competition with six competition categories is held in the EU member states as well as in Albania, Armenia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Great Britain, Iceland, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, Northern Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine. The participating countries identified a maximum of two projects or initiatives from two different categories in the course of national preliminary decisions – conducted in Germany by the RKW Competence Center in Eschborn – that stand out for their particularly innovative and inspiring support services. At the end of September, the international jury nominated 20 finalists for the 2022 round of the competition.

The European Enterprise Promotion Awards will be presented on November 29, 2022, during the EU Commission’s SME Assembly in Prague, Czech Republic. The SME Assembly is one of the most important events for small and medium-sized enterprises in Europe.

The shortlist with all finalists of the 2022 competition round can be found here.

Photo 1: Team ScaleUp4Sustainability receives the certificate at the BMWK as winner of the German preliminary round of EEPA 2022. In the picture: Alexandra Widrat, Researcher, Borderstep Institute; Prof. Dr. Klaus Fichter, University of Oldenburg and Borderstep Institute; Dr. Sabine Hepperle, Head of the Department of SME Policy at the BMWK; Johann Tölle, Student Representative, University of Oldenburg.

Photo 2: The winners in the German preliminary round of the EEPA 2022, the European joint funding project “ScaleUp4Sustainability” led by the University of Oldenburg and project “Bremen becomes new” of the Bremen Economic Development Corporation. Certificate presentation at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action.